A Tribute to Mikaela Shiffrin

Good morning! Unless you spent the weekend living under a rock, you either watched or learned that Mikaela Shiffrin broke the great Ingemar Stenmark’s Ski World Cup record of 86 wins on Saturday. Mikaela is now the greatest ski racer of all time - period. Congrats Miki!?

In 2014/15, I had the honor of coaching Mikaela, Resi Stiegler, and Paula Moltzan. Not only is this a tribute to Mikaela, but my reason why she is now “the” greatest athlete of all time. I know there will be those who argue that ski racing is a minor sport (true in America), and that being a female, achieving 87 wins, was easier as the men race more challenging courses (false - only in certain downhill events). Now before some of you who aren’t ski racing fans get your “undies in a bunch,” and start rattling off other notable sports stars, I’d like to describe the sport of ski racing:

• Ski racing is not only one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet, but it’s also dangerous. Rarely does any athlete out of a ski racing career without a major injury. Mikaela has only had a couple of minor injuries - a strained knee in 2016 and a sore back over the past few seasons. This is absolutely astounding considering she’s been on the circuit for over 10 years!
• Flying down the mountain in stiff plastic boots attached to long appendages (skis), at speeds between 30 - 70mph (depending on the event), is not for the faint of heart or the physically and mentally unprepared. One had better have nerves of steel, be physically fit and technically adept. Mikaela started her career in Slalom and has progressed at a steady pace to finally be comfortable in the speed events. She is still the only ski racer to win every single discipline (Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super-G, Downhill, Combined, and Parallel) at least once.?
• Ski racing is held during a plethora of changing weather conditions: Sun, clouds, winds, snowstorms, light rain, not to mention extreme cold at times. How many athletes compete in those conditions? A very rare minority.?
• Both male and female ski racers compete on similar surfaces. Fully injected (with water) to create a slope that is an ice rink with a 40%+ gradient. The average skier cannot ski on it! Mikaela makes it look like child’s play. Then, if Mother Nature pulls a 180 (which she often does), the weather gets warm and that icy surface begins to deteriorate and is marred by potholes and ruts, she’s able to make the transition and ski through it effortlessly.?
• The competition venues in ski racing are always different, with varied terrain, and steeps at over 40° to flat sections - that change every season due to the amount of snowfall. No controlled indoor or outdoor surfaces like basketball, tennis volleyball, pools, etc. No relatively consistent fields of play like football, soccer, cricket, baseball, etc. Golf is one sport that has some similarities, but again they generally don’t compete during inclement weather.?
• Equipment for ski racing appears to be like what the skiing public uses. It’s not. Boots and skis are scientifically engineered, and the manufacturing process is highly secretive, not unlike F1 auto racing. The ski technicians for each top-tier athlete are highly respected artisans of their craft and must prepare their skis to not only hold on to the ice but run fast on the flatter sections of a course in all weather conditions. Mikaela has been with the same ski and boot maker for most of her career, which has allowed her to remain incredibly consistent.?
• Ski racing is a brutal individual sport. There are lots of GOAT’s out there in team sports, but their career is (to a degree) dependent on the quality of other athletes assembled around them. There is usually someone there to pick them up when the chips are down, to give them a boost when a critical play is on the line, or to CTA when they aren’t playing their best. Ski racers are “islanders,” who are left to battle their own thoughts - internally no matter what situations they face. Just the memorization of each racecourse set, the terrain, the surface, the weather, must be processed, compartmentalized, and honed to perfection prior to execution in order to race and win - most often not one run, but two! The thought of one athlete being able to do this 87 times over a 10-year career is nearly unimaginable.?
• I’ve been fortunate to have coached some of the greatest ski racers in our generation: Tommy Moe, AJ Kitt, Doug Lewis, Kyle Rasmussen, and the late Bill Johnson - all World Cup winners, Olympic Champions, or World Championship Medalists. Talented, hardworking, and charismatic. But even they would agree that Mikaela is all of the above, and more. She works harder than any athlete I’ve ever known. Her strength-to-weight ratio is close to 100%. She (and her mom/coach Eileen) demand perfection in every aspect of her training regimen. When everyone else is inside after a day of training, Mikaela is often still out perfecting her craft. She is always willing to put in the extra time and effort to achieve the win.
• Ski racing is a brutal sport mentally. Crashing at high speeds (on hard surfaces) hurts. Repeated failures hurt. Yet, Mikaela has a unique ability to forget past mistakes, bobbles, and crashes almost instantly. She never dwells on anything negative for too long. No, she’s not a machine (although I’ve wondered at times). She just has a better processor (upstairs) than the rest of us. She’s dealt with the tragic loss of her father, a couple of close ski racing buddies, and the Beijing Olympic hiccup. The latter spurning thousands of social media vitriol from insensitive individuals worldwide because she had a bad week. Unjustified? Absolutely, but sadly that’s the world we live in today. However, remember the part about Mikaela being able to forget past mistakes? A few weeks later, she wins again and secures her fourth World Cup Overall Title as nothing had ever happened. Beijing what, who, where?!?
• And last, but not least, Mikaela is kind and humble. She’s easy to coach and looks after her team. During an early season training session in Vail (2014), we had about 8” of fresh snow on our training slope that had been injected. The weather was cold and windy. All of us rallied to shovel and rake all the fresh snow off the icy surface. I was about halfway down the course with a shovel (sans jacket and hat) and sweating like a dog. Mikaela comes down during an inspection run and says, “OMG, you look miserable, can I go up and bring your jacket and hat down?” Or, when my birthday in January fell on a training day in Pozza di Fassa, Italy and nobody knew - except Eileen and Mikaela. They took an effort to throw me a Team party with cake and presents. During that season, Mikaela also knew that I couldn’t go home and see my wife and kids during Christmas due to the tight race schedule, so she went Christmas shopping with me in Innsbruck to find something special for my daughter. And, when my son broke his clavicle giant slalom training in Park City, she called and gave him a pep talk! Through all the wins, all the challenges, all the accolades, and obligations, Mikaela has always remained a kindhearted soul.?

From my perspective, Mikaela is the GOAT, male or female, in any sport, hands down. Hopefully, this tribute dispels some of the myths that ski racing is only a glamour sport. Is anyone close? Sure, maybe Tiger Woods in golf, but even he couldn’t eclipse Jack’s record for majors. Mikaela has given new meaning to the phrase “records were meant to be broken.” Even 8 years ago, when she finished the season after amassing a total of 15 World Cup wins, nobody had any idea she would eclipse Stenmark’s record. Now that she owns the record at 87 wins (and counting), and numerous Olympic and World Championship medals, her mind has been “set free” from the pressures of achieving such legendary status. I have the feeling she’s just getting started. Just watch it unfold and enjoy it - these types of history-making performances are once in a lifetime. Congrats Miki - you deserve it!?